In that vein, Luther and his allies would use copies of his detractors’ pamphlets as their toilet paper – and then send them back to the authors. This was in keeping with the practice of the German nobility who sometimes dipped their enemies’ coats of arms in excrement and then carried that insult into battle.

So, during this time speaking about do-do was, according to Mead Skjelver, simply a form of tough-talk – equivalent to today’s locker-room bravado. Adherents to this theory point to other German men from the 16th-18th centuries also well-known for their scatology, including Johannes Gutenberg and Wolfgang Mozart. With this last, a thorough study was done that showed that in 371 of his letters, 39% had some sort of scatological reference, including to buttocks or defecation (45 letters), shit (21) and arse (19), among others.

So what did Luther actually say? As an example, in 1542, Luther is reported to have described his depression as such: “I am ripe shit, so is the world a great wide asshole; eventually we will part.”[1]

To say he was preoccupied would be putting it mildly. In 1531, in discussing an illustrative conversation he had with the Devil (which took place on a toilet), Luther said, “I am cleansing my bowels and worshipping God Almighty; You deserve what descends and God what ascends.”[2]

So great was his love for pooing that he claimed one of his most significant revelations came while he was on the pot. In attempting to understand Romans 1:17, the realization that salvation came through faith rather than through his effort struck him, and as he later claimed, “Here I felt that I was altogether born again, and had entered Paradise itself through open gates.”[3]

In his defense, the idea of the Devil loitering in toilets and it being his “playground,” was a common one.[4] So, it makes a weird sort of sense that Luther would, as he put it, “chase him [Satan] away with a fart,” or write to him, “Dear Devil . . . I have shat in my pants and breeches; hang them on your neck and wipe your mouth with them.”[5]

More than just bizarre diary entries, it has been argued that the Devil in these writings often served as a stand-in for many of Luther’s enemies, and that Luther’s followers were aware of this and applauded him for his bravery and strength.[6]

Not everyone was impressed with Luther’s vulgarity, however. The English Catholic, Thomas More (1478-1535) (Henry VIII had his head cut off on July 6), called Luther a “buffoon . . . [who will] carry nothing in his mouth other than cesspools, sewers, latrines, shit and dung . . . .”[7]

But Luther was undeterred and toward the end of his life, penned what was essentially an open letter to Pope Paul III in 1545 called Against the Papacy in Rome Founded by the Devil, in which Luther pulled out all the stops. Saving some of his best for last, Luther described the practice of indulgences as “an utter shitting,” and went on to claim that the “dearest little ass-pope” not only worshiped Satan, but “also lick[ed his] behind.”[8] (Licking someone’s butt at this time being somewhat equivalent to the modern expression “kiss-ass.”) He also said the Pope farted so loudly and powerfully, that “it is a wonder that it did not tear his hole and belly apart.”[9]

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Martin Luther King Jr. was originally named Michael. His father was also Michael King, hence why Martin Luther King Jr. was originally named Michael King Jr. However, after a trip to Germany in 1931, Michael King Sr. changed his own name in homage to theologian Martin Luther. Michael King Jr. was two years old at the time and King Sr. made the decision to change his son’s name to Martin Luther as well.

Ever wondered what the symbols used instead of spelling out a swear word explicitly, such as “F*@k”, are named? In this context, the symbols are known as “grawlixes.”

The notion that people (especially the religious) used foul language commonly is completely false. I have read most of the contemporaries of Luther and NEVER would I find a Catholic cleric using foul language like this. Read the inspirational works of his contemporaries such as St. Thomas More, St Francis Xavier, St. John of God, St. Ignatius of Loyola, Pius V, Edmund Campion, St. Theresa of Avila, Charles Borromeo, Thomas a Kempis and you’ll see what a lot of rubbish this is.